When you move to a new City, open a new business and have people all hyped up, lined up in lines with long waiting times you should be working your ass off, not closing the doors. It's either a case of bad logistics, timing or both.

SF is not NYC and it's already showing when you look at the reviews and comments posted so far on several sites.

I think Anthony might have to adjust a little to the West Coast.

Logged

Mike

"Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new." - Albert Einstein

I was actually there opening night,and was the first one through the door.The place is amazing and ,besides my own{I am biased],have never had a better pizza.And Anthony and Ilara are gracious and kind people.Must try if in the area.

Was in SF this past week and ate at UPN. I was there w 4 people that live in the area and they say that the lines are still there and UPN is as popular as ever. I thought the pizza was really good. Maybe a little wet for my liking (at home really get the water out), but as far as fermentation and baking they were spot on. As I've said about Anthony before, it is great to see someone with that much passion about what they do. You could tell he wasn't just "at work".

Was in SF this past week and ate at UPN. I was there w 4 people that live in the area and they say that the lines are still there and UPN is as popular as ever. I thought the pizza was really good. Maybe a little wet for my liking (at home really get the water out), but as far as fermentation and baking they were spot on. As I've said about Anthony before, it is great to see someone with that much passion about what they do. You could tell he wasn't just "at work".

Jeff

looks like he added the basil towards the end of the bake? what do you thinkthe basil doesn't look like it was dressed in the beginning and cook for the whole time, I don't know.. any thoughts?

PV, not a chance he took that out and added the basil and put it back in, the bufula, presumably was way to wet, and the water protected the basil IMO, way too wet, but I be the overall taste was outstanding. -Marc

It would make no sense to pull out the pie throw some basil on and throw it back in. He uses a lot of oil and the water from the cheese adds a lot of protection to the basil from burning. That's why the tips are only burnt and not the body of the basil.

Just to clarify-the basil was added before baking. Also, to Jackie Trans point the basil and the oven have quite a bit to do with it not burning. I can get those results in my 2stone if it's hot enough using fresh mozz and moderate oil.

Edit:FWIW, I attribute the basil not burning to it sticking to the sauce and the parts that are sticking up in the hot air getting burnt. Hope that makes sense-Just my guess.

PV, not a chance he took that out and added the basil and put it back in, the bufula, presumably was way to wet, and the water protected the basil IMO, way too wet, but I be the overall taste was outstanding. -Marc

I agree. Looks like almost all of the water came from the cheese. It was probably also a pretty fast bake time.

We ate at Una Pizza Napoletana last Saturday night. This is one place that I had to try at least once to use as a benchmark given its legendary status. While driving by the SF neighborhood, I was expecting a line outside so I had some backup Neo places to go to like Mozzeria or even Del Popolo just in case, but there was no line and there was a parking spot a few meters away so it was a no brainer.

As soon as you walk in the door, you will see Anthony right in front with the stunning oven right at the center of the pizzeria. We were immediately seated since there were a few tables open. We ordered the Margherita and the Apolonia - Eggs, salame, parm, bufalo mozzarella, garlic, basil, evoo, black pepper (which was only available on Saturdays). According to their menu, they use Dickson Napa Ranch Olive oil and Dani Coop San Marzano. It seems like Anthony is also following the "local" craze among chefs which, IMO, is smart and responsible.

The Margherita came after about 15 mins and was followed by the Apolonia after another 15 mins. I timed his pies as soon as they were launched in the oven and on the 3 separate batches that I timed them, they were all above 2 mins (around 2:15 secs average). I was a bit surprised since I always thought that his bake times would be in the 90 sec range max.

CRUST

The crust had an excellent flavor from the natural leaven. The wild yeast flavor is really coming through without being sour. This is one area where Anthony really displayed his expertise in managing fermentation. It was very soft and tender with just the right amount of chew. However, the crust was too puffy for my taste which was bordering on being too "bready" or doughy. The puff from the rim was too big in relation to the overall size of the pie, which I was not a fan of. I know some people prefer a large puffy rim.

SAUCE

The tomato flavor was really coming through but some seasoning to balance the acidity from the tomatoes would have made it really "pop" and make you come back for more after the 1st bite.

CHEESE

The buffalo mozzarella leaked too much water. It seemed like the cheese was not drained at all so the pie was a bit too watery for me.

OTHER TOPPINGS

The eggs and salame were nowhere to be found in the Apolonia pie. He put beaten eggs underneath the cheese and they turned into scrambled eggs. The salame where cut into 1/4in cubes. Maybe, he put 6-8 pieces but I did not really see or taste them.

I have to say that I was a bit underwhelmed with his pizzas. They were good pizzas but I cannot even try to justify the huge price tag that goes with it especially when some decent competition is charging 40% cheaper. That being said, any pizza enthusiast should still eat at UPN at least once even if only to experience the flavor from the crust.

scott123

Prior to tasting Neapolitan pizza, I had heard some people call it soupy and was a bit concerned, but, out of all the places I've been to in NY and NJ, I can't recall any pie being that wet.

Claims about UPN being soupy go pretty far back- that's disappointing that he hasn't worked that out. It's really not that hard to properly drain mozzarella. He's also gotten some flack for salt. How were the levels of salt?